Patriots tweak Julian Edelman’s contract

It’s rare to see a player rework a contract a little more than a month after initially signing it, but that’s just what Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman did this week.

In Thursday’s release of transactions around the league, the NFL announced that Edelman and the Patriots had agreed to a renegotiated deal. Field Yates of ESPNBoston.com reports that the restructuring shifted $40,000 of a $50,000 workout bonus to a roster bonus that Edelman will receive if he is on the roster for the first week of the season.

Edelman is still recovering from the foot injury that ended his 2012 season and has not been able to participate fully in the team’s offseason workout program as a result. Shifting the parameters for the bonus allows him to recoup some of that money despite his injury as long as he doesn’t wind up getting cut as the Pats make their way to 53 players. It’s easy to understand why Edelman would agree to the tweak and the move acknowledges that the Patriots would have expected a healthy Edelman to be fully engaged during the offseason schedule.

None of the money in Edelman’s contract is guaranteed and Yates reports that there were also some slight alterations to incentives available to Edelman based on how many receptions he winds up with next season. The maximum potential value of the deal remains $1.015 million.

Update: The Vegas trip was cancelled and Gronk went to Newtown,CT instead. That party animal !

Actually the diabolical Patriots are giving Edelman a chance to recoup the bonus since he is unable to earn the workout bonus while he continues to rehab.

Ridley Me This says:May 26, 2013 3:38 PM

So you think he’s getting punished for going on the vegas trip with gronk that gronk cancelled and didn’t go on by having a bonus he was going to miss because of an injury get shifted to a bonus he can actually receive?

It is a small act of kindness by the Pats. Because Edelman is injuried, he cannot earn the “workout” bonus, so rather than screw the kid, they said, “Okay, will move most of it to a roster bonus with a reduction because it is the same/similar cap hit and you get a chance to get the cash.

CKL says:May 26, 2013 4:10 PM

Good thing he didn’t have diabetes, they’d cut him.
/sarcasm

We’ll see how many people can spin this nice thing they did so Edelman gets a chance to recoup his money into a” Evil Pats” post.

Those people are not smart or fair minded, but they are sometimes creative.